EXCLUSIVE: Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Prods has signed a two-year, first-look deal with AMC to develop and produce scripted cable projects for the network. The pact, Scott Free’s first such first-look agreement with a cable network, stems from the production company’s collaboration with AMC on The Terror, a drama series project based on the 2007 best-selling novel by Dan Simmons, which was taken in for development by AMC in February. The Terror is joined by two other Scott Free drama projects developed under the first-look deal. One is an untitled futuristic, dystopian, sci-fi saga from executive producer and writer Jason Cahill (Fringe) and producer and Emmy-winning prosthetic makeup artist and The Walking Dead co-executive producer Greg Nicotero, who also has a deal at AMC. The other, Raiders, from executive producer and writer Evan Wright (Generation Kill), was among the finalists at this year’s AMC pilot script showcase held this month. It is a WWII drama about a rogue U.S. Navy commander who leads an unconventional warfare unit into the heart of Africa on a mission that will bend the arc of history. This marks AMC’s second first-look deal with a production company. The first one, announced in February, also is with producers who have strong feature pedigrees, Stacey Sher and Michael Shamberg and their Double Feature Films.

“We are excited for the opportunity to work with Scott Free as we continue to develop and produce scripted dramas that defy expectations with truly original stories and characters,” said AMC’s EVP Original Programming Joel Stillerman. Added David Zucker, president of Scott Free Television, “We have tremendous admiration for AMC’s success in pushing the boundaries of television and storytelling.” The Terror, from Scott Free TV, Television 360 and feature producer Alexandra Milchan, is written by hot feature writer David Kajganich. It is set in 1847 when the crew of a Royal Naval expedition to find the Arctic’s treacherous Northwest Passage discovers instead a monstrous predator – a cunning and vicious Gothic horror that stalks the ships in a desperate game of survival, the consequences of which could endanger the region and its native people forever.

Scott Free has a growing TV slate. In addition to the CBS series The Good Wife, which was recently renewed for next season, the company is producing the Showtime pilot Vatican, directed by Ridley Scott; Discovery Channel’s first scripted miniseriesKlondike; Nat Geo’s Killing film franchise; limited series World Without End for Reelz, a follow-up to Pillars Of The Earth; and recent A&E miniseries Coma.